Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =)

Splitty · 01-18-2009, 04:54 PM

My laptop has been having many problems recently so instead of trying to fix all the errors I decided I would just simply reinstall XP Media Center, I had nothing important that I was going to lose anyways so I figured why not. Now the problem is, even knowing there is a clean installation of XP the hard drive still has all the programs on it. I would like the hard drive to be completely wiped out. When I'm partitioning my hard drive it wont let me delete one partition because it contains files the are required for the reinstallation. Any suggestions on how I can reinstall windows with a clean hard drive? Thanks in advance!

Moto_Terminator · 01-18-2009, 06:34 PM

Hi there,

Does the hard-drive have multiple partitions?

Splitty · 01-18-2009, 07:31 PM

yeah it does

Splitty · 01-18-2009, 07:51 PM

At the windows setup screen it says I have the following partitions:
-: Partition1 [FAT] 47MB
C: Partition2 [NTSF] 107615MB
F: Partition3 [Mediadirect] 2047MB
E: Partition4 [FAT32] 4754MB

**grimx133** · 01-18-2009, 10:37 PM

The programs on it after the reinstall are the bloatware put on by the OEM manufacturer's. Only way to do a clean install of windows only is to purchase a new operating system. If you go that route, back up your xp drivers first, you will need them as they are on the dell discs, but not on a regular windows disc. You're better off just uninstalling the bloatware and moving on from there.

Splitty · 01-19-2009, 10:31 PM

Ok well thanks for the help the problem is solved!
To grimx133, after the installation I still had programs like COD4, Xfire, Itunes, etc. they just weren't installed properly and couldn't be used but they were still taking up all that space on the hard drive. I can't explain it, but its fixed now anyways after another reinstallation so thanks! =)

01-18-2009, 04:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Splitty Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 23 OS: Windows XP	Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) My laptop has been having many problems recently so instead of trying to fix all the errors I decided I would just simply reinstall XP Media Center, I had nothing important that I was going to lose anyways so I figured why not. Now the problem is, even knowing there is a clean installation of XP the hard drive still has all the programs on it. I would like the hard drive to be completely wiped out. When I'm partitioning my hard drive it wont let me delete one partition because it contains files the are required for the reinstallation. Any suggestions on how I can reinstall windows with a clean hard drive? Thanks in advance!

01-18-2009, 06:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
Moto_Terminator Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 145 OS: MS Windows XP Pro	Re: Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) Hi there, Does the hard-drive have multiple partitions?

01-18-2009, 07:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Splitty Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 23 OS: Windows XP	Re: Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) yeah it does

01-18-2009, 07:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
Splitty Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 23 OS: Windows XP	Re: Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) At the windows setup screen it says I have the following partitions: -: Partition1 [FAT] 47MB C: Partition2 [NTSF] 107615MB F: Partition3 [Mediadirect] 2047MB E: Partition4 [FAT32] 4754MB Last edited by Splitty; 01-18-2009 at 07:53 PM.

01-18-2009, 10:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,153 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) The programs on it after the reinstall are the bloatware put on by the OEM manufacturer's. Only way to do a clean install of windows only is to purchase a new operating system. If you go that route, back up your xp drivers first, you will need them as they are on the dell discs, but not on a regular windows disc. You're better off just uninstalling the bloatware and moving on from there. __________________

01-19-2009, 10:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
Splitty Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 23 OS: Windows XP	Re: Dell Inspiron 6400 help plz! =) Ok well thanks for the help the problem is solved! To grimx133, after the installation I still had programs like COD4, Xfire, Itunes, etc. they just weren't installed properly and couldn't be used but they were still taking up all that space on the hard drive. I can't explain it, but its fixed now anyways after another reinstallation so thanks! =)